Profile a Blog: A Continuous Lean

A Continuous Lean is a blog written by Michael Williams. Michael lives in New York City and works on the factory floor at Paul + Williams. He created this blog in 2007 as a discovery agent for those with an appreciation of quality, style and provenance. He focuses on American Made brands that are dedicated to producing quality pieces with a real story. Michael posts very frequently, and is always keeping the blog fresh with new and interesting content. Most recently, he commented on a long time hat maker called Quaker Marine Supply. Instead of just posting a couple of pictures and telling the public where to buy the product, Michael comments on the history of the company and gives you a little bit of color. For example, he states:

“Hat maker Quaker Marine Supply seems to be something destined for “discovery” by your favorite local Americana loving menswear shop. Originally founded on the Philadelphia waterfront, the company has been making classic hats (mostly geared toward the seafaring set) in the U.S. since 1946.”

“The company changed ownership recently and relocated to Portland, Maine in 2003, though it continues to produce some seriously iconic cover — and for reasonable prices.”

This illustrates how detailed Michael’s posts are. He comments on the history of the company and its current situation so the reader knows a little bit more than the company. The post also highlights the fact how he supports American manufacturing, and the creation of jobs that it effectively creates.

In another post, Michael comments on how the long time denim maker, Self Edge, purchased a 30 year old sewing machine to produce their jeans, and their reasons behind it:

“The denim loving guys at Self Edge sent out an email this morning about their recently acquired almost-new Union Special 43200G chainstich machine. The lore of these Union Specials and their coveted status among denim-nerds is the stuff of legend — which makes the below story even more remarkable.

“This is the machine the Japanese first scoured the world for starting in the 1980′s, they wanted them to place in their factories which reproduced vintage styles of American jeans from the 1950′s and before. It was a good twenty years until the rest of the world realized what was happening in Japan, by that time most of the 43200G machines had been bought up by the Japanese factories, brands, and retailers to put in their stores for in-store hemming.”

I really like this post. It is so new and refreshing to here about companies using innovative technology to create their collection. There is something to be said about those brands. Creating a product that has so much detail, fine needlework, and a real story is what drives this brand to success. I love how Michael shares with the public the manufacturing side of the fashion industry and the amount of imagination and technique that goes into it.

I also think that the story about this machine provides remarkable insight to the denim industry as a whole. What people don’t realize, like many industries, Apparel is an EXTREMELY competitive industry, and it all starts with the machinery and tools. The Japanese have always been at the forefront of technology, and the 43200G machines have revolutionized many jean companies made constructed their garments. Short stories and behind the scenes information is what I really admire from this blog, and I hope to implement this perspective in my own posts.